While the Tea Party has planned nationwide rallies on April 15, the Coffee Party will be quietly discussing partisan warfare in Washington DC. At Busboys and Poets, a panel of political thinkers will be exploring the topic "Ending the Partisan Warfare in America" and how to overcome this increasingly poisonous rift in order to effect genuine political change.
The featured panel speakers will be Nicole Kurokawa, current CNN commentator and former Cato Institute (libertarian think tank) & FreedomWorks (Tea Party group) strategist, and Omar Ali, one of the nation's premier experts on Independents. The Coffee Party website will be livestreaming the event.
Also featured on the Coffee Party's website is a new poll entitled "What Issues Should Coffee Party USA Prioritize?", with special briefing papers on two specific topics: money in politics and Wall St reform. Such measures highlight the growing effort of party leaders to establish a cohesive platform, unified set of principles, and a solution-oriented agenda.
While the tax day tea parties are likely to generate a much more visible, passionate, and politically charged spectacle, the Coffee Party has elected to go the quieter, more cerebral approach. Thus far, both "parties" continue to experience impressive growth despite their contrasting styles.
Looking ahead, it will be interesting to see what each party has in store for July 4, and whether or not either party begins to more powerfully resonate with the American people.